This maker has been in business since 1873 and was incorporated in 1882. In their earlier days they were known as Plessisville Foundry (or, in French, La Fonderie de Plessisville), and "Forano" was a trade mark used on their products. Sometime between 1941 and 1955 the name changed to Forano Ltée, and in 1978 the name changed again to Forano, Inc. The company was dissolved in 1987.

This maker's product line included sawmill machinery, planer-matchers, veneer slicers, and other large heavy-duty machines. They also made logging machinery, which is outside the scope of our website.

Information Sources

• Since 1873, according to an ad in a 1957 issue of "Canadian Woodworker." The ad shows the Forano 75 22x8 planer-matcher, introduced six years before, "designed and built to meet Canadian needs." Ad also says, "A complete line of sawmill and woodworking equipment."
• 1932 catalog for Plessisville Foundry.
• A web page for the library of the University of Western Ontario notes that Forano's name changed from "Ltee" to "Inc." in 1978. It also notes that Forano was a privately held company owned by Placements Essor Des Bois Frans Inc.
• Canadian Corporate Reports of the McGill Digital Archive has the following entry on this company:

  Forano Limited was incorporated in Quebec in 1882. The company changed its name to Forano Inc. in 1978. The company continued in Quebec in 1982, and it was dissolved in 1987.

• A correspondent reports a kettle marked, "FONDERIE DE PLESSISVILLE PQ 1886". Such items are outside the scope of our website so we do not track information on them.